1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for loading and stacking objects on a pallet or the like and comprises an upright support for a mechanism provided to transfer an object such as a package from a first area, for instance a platform or a floor, to a second area, for instance a pallet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Known in the art is an apparatus with an arm which is pivotally mounted about a vertical axis and connected to a second arm which is pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis and provided with a catching mechanism. Such an apparatus is disadvantageous in that it is difficult to move the arms to the correct positions and in that the load which may be carried by such an arm assembly is very restricted owing to the resulting strains. There is also a pronounced risk for swinging or oscillating movements of the objects during the transfer.
It is also known to arrange an upper fixed frame serving as a support for a second frame being provided to be longitudinally displaced relative to said upper frame and serving in turn to support a carriage provided to be moved transversally in respect of said fixed frame and carrying a catching mechanism which is vertically movable to enable it to be lowered into engagement with the object to be transferred and to be raised to and above the level occupied by the uppermost layer of a pile of objects stacked upon a pallet or the like. Such an apparatus is more easy to operate in an accurate manner than the first one in that the movements follow coordinates but also in this case the load which may be carried by such catching mechanism is restricted owing to the length of the catching mechanism and also in this case the objects tend to come into swinging or oscillating movements which makes it impossible to operate with high speeds.